Dee Snider Readying Release of ‘Contemporary’ New Solo Album

Dee Snider's next release has had a long, strange journey, from compilation project to album of all-new material, and it looks like it's nearing its final destination.

During a recent appearance on One on One With Mitch Lafon, which you can listen to below, Snider revealed he's signed a pair of record deals for the new LP, which he's planning on titling Now. Although Snider doesn't have a release date to share yet, he added that he's going back into the studio to finish work on the album in February. It remains to be seen whether the final track listing will include Snider's most recent single, "To Hell and Back," which he released for free last year.

"I've been challenged to transform myself at the ripe old age of 61, and I like being challenged. It was almost a dare," said Snider. "I don't want to say it's out of my wheelhouse, beause it's my voice. But this stuff is very different. It's edgy. Think Foo Fighters, think Queen ... think that kind of mainstream rock. So it's still crunchy, and it's still got attitude, but it's not '80s rock. It's contemporary-sounding stuff."

As Snider told Ultimate Classic Rock last year, he's been working on the new material with a team that includes guitarist Nick Perri and producer Damon Ranger — though he's taken pains to make it clear that he's only responsible for the vocals, and is no longer interested in writing songs himself. "Damon, when he approached me, I said, 'Well, I like the challenge of it and I’m willing to give it a shot,'" recalled Snider. "He said, “Do you want to write with me?' And I said, 'Absolutely f—ing not.' I said. 'I don’t f—ing know what makes a new song or an old song, but I’m there.'"

The idea, Snider explained to UCR, is to show his fans a different side of his musical personality. "I’m more interested in something that challenges me than rehashing the past," he said. "I keep trying to show people I am not a one-note horn. People are going, 'Oh wow, he can do radio' and 'Wow, he can act' and he can sing and he can do this and he can do that. I’ve really been on a mission to just get the idea in people’s heads not to know what to expect from me and also that I’m capable of a lot more than they thought I was."

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